Project IV: Crystal Tokyo R
by Demon Eyes Laharl
Summary: Ranma realises that the life he lived through was nothing but a mere fabrication of something big, and so joins a group of labled 'Youma' to find out the truth of the real world, and his destiny... [Paused]
1. Prologue

__

There are some things in life, which I'll never understand. Ever since Jusendo I never actually got the feeling of something big out there, something not necessarily good, or evil. . 

I can never really could explain it. Have you ever felt like you never knew if you were asleep or still dreaming? I did, and it scared me to the core. 

It wasn't until 'the' call that changed my beliefs, and my life. 

The call was an unusual call. It gave me clues, statements, absurd statements, which made sensed in what I felt, and every time I am alone, the phone never fails to ring. 

After a few weeks, I tried to meet up with her, but something interfered. A bunch of girls crashed where I was supposed to meet 'her', and ever since, I awaited the time where I would get called again. Seems today was my lucky day.

****

Project IV: Crystal Tokyo R

Prologue: What is Crystal Tokyo? 

Ranma seem to out of thought as he moved with slower pace as he moved towards the dining table, where he waited for lunch. 

It was late afternoon, with the Tendo family, with the patriarchs of the Saotome household also going towards the new center of town: the new ice cream parlor. Akane, being Akane, loved ice cream, and wanted to go. Soun agreed, and Genma, thought with his stomach, also joined. Nabiki followed, and so did Kasumi, and so did Nodoka. Only Ranma said he wanted to stay. 

__

"Why aren't you coming, baka?!" Akane had demanded. "You're going to invite one of those hussies that crashed our wedding again while I'm gone?" 

"How many times do I have to tell you, you stupid tomboy?" Ranma had replied. "I didn't invite them to our wedding, you should..." Unfortunately, Ranma wasn't talking fast enough to finish his sentence, as Akane hit him with a mallet towards the ground for the tomboy comment. 

__

"FINE! AS FAR AS I KNOW, OUR ENGAGEMENT IS OVER!" Akane shouted, and left. 

Of course, that wasn't everything. Ranma tried to forget the part where Genma called him dishonorable for making his fiancée mad, or how Soun took out his demon head and tried to intimidate the boy, but he didn't care anymore. 

All the life he lied through was nothing short of a suicide pact. The fiancées, the pact signed by Genma and his handprints stating he'll be a man among men, and all the rivals out for his blood, everything was really going downwards, towards his death. 

Ranma sighed, as he took his time to walk out of the garden, and began some katas. 

++++++++

A dark figure was jumping from rooftops to rooftops. She had dark blue hair, and wore black shiny leather tights with trenchcoat, shades, and was talking to a cellphone. 

"I'm approaching him," she said in her phone. 

__

"Make sure you are not being followed, Mai," the voice on the phone replied. _"We need to get him. 'He' might be the one." _

The girl 'Mai', just nodded, and closed her phone, nearing Tendou Hall. But then, she stepped on a weak tile, and slipped down, falling on her butt. 

There were two teen boys watching, and they stared at the girl for the longest time. Mai stood up, and blushed. "I MEANT THAT!" she shouted towards the boy, and she jumped away. 

The boys looked at each other, confused. 

++++++++

Ranma punched Ryouga in the head, launched him in the air, followed through with fast punches, kicks, and a little aerodynamics to stay in the air as long as possible, and then, landed on the ground, his legs spread out a bit, not even displacing the ground as he landed. 

It was too bad the Ryouga he was not fighting was for real. It would have been nice if Ryouga came around or so, fighting him. Of all the rivals he had, Ryouga was the most understanding one. Sure, he always came towards Ranma with the usual 'I went through hell because of you!' routine, and blasting Ranma to smithereens, but still, they had respect for each other, one trying to outdo the other. It was an endless rivalry. 

Ranma suddenly turned around, and looked up, in a ready position. "WHO'S THERE?!" 

On the rooftops, a girl in a clad of shiny black leather and dark shades raised her hand. "It's only me, Ranma." 

"Mai-san," Ranma relaxed. "Sorry. I thought you were..." 

"We have no time. You're going to meet 'her' now," cut Mai. 

Ranma nodded. "Lead the way..." 

=Streets=

Ranma smiled as he followed the girl jumping from rooftops to rooftops, going into one particular direction. "Hey, is 'she' really going to want to meet me now?" 

Mai didn't turn her head. "Quiet..." Ranma remained silent, until Mai sighed. "Yes, 'she' wants to meet with you." 

"Why, of all the times I talked to 'her' on the phone, I get to meet her now?" Ranma asked. 

"We were running out of time. 'They' are on to you already, and it will only be a matter of time before they reach you," Mai replied. 

"Them, huh?" Ranma asked. He suddenly looked worried. "You think they are following us?" 

"I doubt it," Mai said. "I have some help, warning me what might be coming up. If there is something wrong, they'll..." RING! "...call... Hello?" Mai said as she took her phone out. "WHAT?! Shit..." turning her head back to Ranma, the girl gave out a grave stare. 

"What is it?" Ranma asked seriously. 

"I've been detected!" Mai replied. "They'll be raining upon us soon, so hurry up!" 

"Got ya!" 

=Somewhere in Nerima, near the Tendou Training Hall, a few minutes later=

"They passed through here," a blonde girl said. 

"Hmm, yes," the brunette with ponytail said. "It's kinda weird that we are chasing the same woman, and maybe that cute boy with her." 

"Do you think he was with her?" the black haired girl asked. 

"Wherever they went, their energy signature is fading. We have to move fast if we want to catch up with them," the girl with short blue hair stated looking at her, what seemed to look like a computer. 

The girls nodded, and jumped towards the rooftops, following the girl with blue hair. 

=Rooftops=

Ranma was keeping all quiet, his body posture not really healthy. He and Mai were in a narrow crack on a wall. It was big enough to fit Ranma and Mai, and it gave them good view of the place around them. 

It was near Dr. Tofu's place, which thankfully was closed. Dr. Tofu was one of those people who can, more or less, detect Ki signatures [except Kasumi's... go figure], and if the good doctor saw Ranma with a girl up there, it would rouse suspicions. 

"Hey, you okay there?" Ranma asked. "Your breasts must be squashed tight there..."

Mai glared at the boy. "Shut up!" she replied heatedly. "See if they are here..."

Ranma nodded, and scanned the streets. After a few minutes, of searching, he saw them. "They are here..." 

"Just see if they spot us... we are in a very vulnerable position, you know?" Mai replied. 

Ranma nodded, watching. The girls following them were really scaring him. He couldn't feel any Ki from them, which was impossible. Any living thing had Ki, and if you find someone without Ki, it was either a zombie, a demon, or anything which was never from earth to begin with. 

He also wanted to avoid fights with the girls. They were, more or less, much more powerful then they look. A few weeks ago, when Ranma tried to meet 'her', and when those girls crashed in, he shuddered at the power they held. 

He was actually confident enough to try and take them all at once at that time, rushing towards them. They didn't have the skill, but then, they were abnormally tough, super fast, and mucho power on their energy projectiles. He found out when he tried to blast them, punch them, or even tried his most powerful Hiryu Shoten Ha. They shrugged all of that off. 

"Are they here?" Mai whispered. 

"Yeah..." Ranma whispered back. He shivered as he saw one of the girls looking at their general direction. He didn't want to fight those girls. They were worse than Herb, Saffron and Pantyhose combined, except they have almost nil skills in fighting. 

Then, Ranma noticed the girls left. Looking back towards M{Ai, he nodded his head and smiled slowly. 

"I think they are gone," Ranma replied. "But I'm not sure if they are just hiding, or how far they are. I can't feel them..."

"I told you before," Mai said slowly, "you can never feel them. Hey, I think they really are gone. Come on, lets go!" 

"SURE!" Ranma said excitedly. He moved a bit, and then saw a new problem. "Um, Mai...?" 

"What?" Mai asked, her voice with a small hint of fear. "They are here?" 

"No... I'm kinda stuck..." 

++++++++

Without almost any difficulty except getting Ranma out of the crack, Mai used caution this time, and used a Taxi to take Ranma towards 'her'. When they arrived Ranma was the first to get off the Taxi, and looked at his surroundings. Everything looked so mysterious, so dark, and foreboding. It was also a shanty. 

Out of all those things, he was much more curious why 'she' would want to meet him in a building with shanties around the place. Looking at Mai, he asked, "Mai, why does Be..." 

"Do you have an extra 500 yen?" Mai cut in, looking mad, but not exactly towards the boy. "I can't believe I forgot my money!!" 

Ranma shook his head, a sweat drop evident on his head. He dove his hands towards his pocket, and took out some coins, and grouped them until he got 600 yen, and gave it to Mai. Mai paid the rest of the meter, and got a hundred yen as change. She flipped it towards Ranma, who caught it easily, and both figures walked towards the building. 

"Uh, Mai, question..." Ranma began. 

"What is it?" Mai replied. 

"Uh, are you guys poor that you can't afford a Taxi ride?" Ranma asked. 

Mai stopped to her tracks, and glared at the boy. "Care to repeat that?" 

The two figures walked into towards the building...

=Nerima Streets=

The girls returned towards their headquarters, taking their time. They stared at the space around them, and it took a few minutes before someone spoke. "Are you sure it's that woman again?" asked the girl with long black hair. 

"Same signature," the girl with blue hair replied. "And it seems the boy joined her again." 

"That boy can't be a bad guy! He's too cute!" the blonde said. 

"Well, we can't find her, or him anymore," the blue haired girl said. 

The door opened and in came another blonde. "Hey everyone! How was your chase?" 

"YOU STUPID GIRL! WE CALLED YOU A FEW MINUTES AGO, AND ALL YOU DO IS JUST LEAVE US ALONE WHILE YOU DATE THAT HUSBAND TO BE OF YOURS!" the girl with black hair replied. 

"WAHH! REI! You're so mean!" the blonde replied. 

=Back to Ranma=

Mai showed Ranma towards a beaten wooden door, and paused. Ranma stopped behind her, and waited for Mai to say anything. When she didn't, he decided to brake the ice. 

"Is she here?" Ranma asked. 

"Yes she is..." Mai turned towards Ranma. "Piece of advice. Be honest. She knows more than you can imagine..." 

"Whoa, heavy... I wonder if she's really heavy on top..." Ranma laughed at his joke. He wanted to lighten the mood, but it seems Mai took it the wearing way, as in a blink of an eye, opened the door, shoved Ranma in, and gave a good kick in his butt. 

"HEY!" Ranma shouted, trying to get back to Mai, but she closed the door, locking him in. "Jeez, it was only a joke..." he rubbed his behind for some measure. 

A sound of a person clearing her throat brought him back to reality. Turning around, he saw a woman in a clad of much more exotic black leather set of clothes, had dark red hair, and was smiling at him. "Hello Ranma," she greeted. "As you have guessed, I am Beryl." 

"It's an honor meeting you at last," Ranma said, smiling. Finally, he was able to see who she was. She was actually much prettier than he thought. 

"Actually, the honor is mine..." Beryl took out her hand. Ranma took his out, and shook it. "So, I guess I know why you are here." 

"Yeah... by the way, you should give more money to that Mai chick. She was short when she tried to pay just a damn taxi..." Ranma said. 

++++++++

"T-that asshole!" Mai said, trying to make her way to the door. It was only with the help of her friend that she wasn't able to kick the door down. 

"Easy girl," the girl behind Mai said, holding her. The girl had short blonde hair, and was smiling. "It won't do good to kill him while the boss is talking to him." 

"When that asshole and I meet in person, I'll personally kill him!" Mai declared. 

++++++++

"Please, sit," Beryl began, motioning the one of the two red seats in the room. Ranma did as he was told, and noticed a small round table holding a glass of water. Beryl, though, didn't, and walked towards behind her seat, and started to play something in her hand. "So, after we have been keeping contact for weeks, I guess you have few questions." 

"Damn right I have..." Ranma replied quickly. Looking around him, he began his first question. "First, why live in this dump?" 

Beryl smiled. "I don't exactly live here," she replied, not insulted. "We just use this place to hide long enough to explain everything to you." 

Ranma nodded, understanding... a bit. Looking at Beryl, he went a bit more serious. "Beryl-san, the time you called me, and told me this... things, I couldn't help but believe you. Everything I lived seem so... constrained. There was only a few things I can actually do. Do you understand?" 

Beryl nodded. "Yes. I too, felt like that, until I was freed." 

"Freed?" Ranma asked. "What, you were in prison or something?" 

"You can say that," Beryl replied. "Let me ask you a question, Ranma. Do you believe in fate?" 

Ranma took his time, queenly looking at the floor. "No..." he replied. 

"Why?" 

"Because I feel like being controlled by some unknown force," Ranma replied. "If that is fate, then I hate it. Everything in my life, I was doing nothing but being told what to do. Eat this, marry that, learn this... it was getting crappy, and became shitty when it finally all came down to it."

"I know exactly what you mean," Beryl replied, nodding her head. "You feel the world around you, is nothing but an illusion, right?" 

"Every time I wake up, I look around the place, and ask myself..." Ranma sighed. "What is Crystal Tokyo?"

"Crystal Tokyo," Beryl repeated. "Do you even know the word?" 

"I don't even know such word existed," Ranma replied, "much less question it. I tried to ask you, but you never replied. What is Crystal Tokyo?" 

Beryl sighed. "I couldn't reply because it was a dangerous question. That question started to make 'them' chase after you, and almost got us during that incident." Beryl paused. "So, do you really want to know what Crystal Tokyo is?" 

"Yes..." Ranma nodded. 

"Well, Crystal Tokyo is all around us," Beryl replied cryptically. "It's there when you eat, when you drink, when you sleep, when you practise. It's there when you go to school, when you beat up your enemies. It is a the world pulled from your eyes, to blind you from the truth." 

"What truth?" Ranma asked, Beryl serious demeanor scaring him. 

"That you are a slave, Ranma," Beryl replied. "Just like around you, you were born into a bondage, inside a prison you can neither see, smell, or touch. A prison, for your mind." 

Ranma bowed his head. Was his life really like that? Was he a slave? Or was Beryl just joking? Unfortunately, she looked too serious to be joking. 

"Unfortunately, no one can be told what Crystal Tokyo is," Beryl said finally, opening the object she had in her hand. Taking out the contents, she stared at Ranma. "Right now, I'm giving you a choice." She opened her right palm, revealing a blue pill. "Take the blue pill, and you'll wake up in your bed, and you can believe, whatever you want to believe. Take the red pill, and stay in the blender, and I'll show you how fast the blades turn." 

"What?" Ranma asked, confused. 

"I mean, take the red pill, and I'll show you all you need to know," Beryl paraphrased it. 

Ranma took a while, and looked at the blue pill. "Isn't the blue pill viagra?" 

Beryl smiled a bit. "You can believe, whatever you want to believe." 

Ranma took his hand, and was about to pick his choice, when Beryl spoke again. "Remember, all I'm offering is the truth, nothing more." 

Ranma decided...

To Be Continued

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay people, but college days are really tough... sigh... Anyway, this is just an experimental project, so please vote if you would like to continue. VOTE!

Ranma takes the red pill, or the blue pill? Your choice, your review. Thanks people! 


	2. Truth and Revelations

Ranma took his hand, and picked one of the tablets. He put it in his mouth, and took the glass of water that was on the table, and drank deeply. He sighed. The water wasn't cold, and didn't trigger his curse. He looked at Beryl's still open hands. He took the red pill. 

Beryl smiled. Closing her other hand, she took the red pill, and downed the blue pill in Ranma's shocked eyes. 

"Y-you took the b-blue pill!" Ranma muttered. 

Beryl's eyes went wide and hearts appeared. "R-Ranma... you a-are a hunk!" and she staggered towards him like a zombie. She licked her chops. 

Ranma covered himself like he was naked. He prayed that whatever the drug was doing to the woman, he hoped it would stop it's effect now. "Get away f-from me! AHH!" Ranma shouted as Beryl took him in one great hug, and he began to move like a cockroach with his leg caught. "HELP! HELP!" Ranma shouted on top of his lungs. 

Outside, Mai and two other girls were giggling softly. One was even on the floor, rolling, trying not to laugh. "Serves him right," Mai said. 

****

Project IV: Crystal Tokyo R

Chapter 01: Truth and Revelations

Beryl was laughing her head off as Ranma cowered in one side of the room, web cracks appearing from his hand holding the wall with great pressure. "Ranma, I didn't know you were **that** scared of a forward female." 

"NOT FUNNY!" Ranma shouted, and grumbled. "Females..." 

Beryl just ignored him, and with a smile, she motioned him to approach her. Ranma, still a bit in doubt, followed her a bit reluctantly, staying a wee bit away from her. 

Beryl laughed inwardly at that, and went to another wooden door Ranma didn't notice earlier, and Beryl opened it with both of her hands. Inside, Ranma saw a room filled with crude looking machines, and a shot up computer. 

"What is this room?" Ranma asked Beryl. 

"I will answer that question later," Beryl replied. Ranma took a look around, and saw girls on various places. The only one he recognized was Mai, who lead him to a battered up chair. 

"What do you mean later?" Ranma asked. 

"We are running out of time, Ranma," Beryl replied. "The longer we stay here, the much more chances of them getting here." 

Mai and another girl who had long light orange hair started putting wires on his face, arms, and neck. Ranma tried to remain comfortable, but Mai seem to smile evilly, that he shuddered. "What was the red pill, by the way?" he had to ask. 

"The red pill is part of a trace program, designed to disrupt your input/output system so we can pinpoint your exact location," Beryl replied easily, like it was the easiest thing in the world to understand. 

"What?" Ranma asked. 

"It means buckle yourself Ifuirita, 'cause El Hazard is going bye-bye," the girl with long light orange hair replied. Ranma looked even more confused. 

Mai sighed at the confusion. "Forget it Ranma. Tama used to watch a lot of anime while she was still young, and sometimes goes to Crystal Tokyo to buy anime. You can consider her a anime maniac." 

"Oh..." Ranma said, also not really understanding what Mai meant. The girl 'Tama' began arguing with Mai.

"I'M AN OTAKU!" Tama stated angrily. "NOT MANIAC!" 

Ranma sighed. He could never really understand females, and so looked around him to see normal people. Beryl was one, just watching the exchange of the two girls with little interest, more occupied with another girl with short green spiky hair in the computer. He looked around again, and saw a cracked mirror. 

Ranma stared at it with amazement, how it showed a faulty reflection of himself. He laughed inwardly. Even his reflections gave out his good looks [hey, Ranma is very confident, and I'm not surprised its because of his looks] was still... good looking. Then, he stopped laughing. 

"What the..." In his shocked eyes, he saw the mirror turn almost liquid like, kinda like the mercury thingy he saw in science class. "Did any one of you..." Beryl and the others looked at him, and Ranma watched in fascination, as the mirror slowly fixed it's crack. Ranma couldn't help it. He tried to reach for it. 

Beryl watched Ranma reach out towards the mirror. "Have you ever had a dream, Ranma, that you thought it was so real that you didn't know if you would wake up?" Ranma touched the mirror, and slowly put his hand away, and Ranma stared at the fascination of his unstained fingers. "What if you were unable to wake up from that dream, Ranma? How would you know the difference between the dream world, and the real world?" 

By this time, the conversation was lost to Ranma as he felt coldness on his arm. To Beryl and the others, there was nothing on his arm, but for Ranma, he saw glass-like liquid which was so cold that he shivered. It was beginning to wrap around his arm like a viper. "C... cold!" 

Beryl took a look at the girl in the computer. "Rahme, have you found him?" 

"There is too much interference, Boss," the girl with spiky green hair replied. 

Meanwhile, Ranma was now stretching his arm far away from him as the liquid proceeded to grow towards him. "C... cold... h... help...!" 

Mai and Tama began to set up another machine, which was set up on the phone. It seem to run by itself, dialing something. Beryl looked desperately at Rahme, the girl with spiky green hair. 

"Have you found him yet?!" she asked, a bit loudly this time. 

"The system is not letting him go easily!" Rahme replied. 

"He's going to pop!" Tama replied. Ranma was already looking like he was convulsing. 

"Rahme!" Beryl began. 

"I GOT HIM!" Rahme proudly replied as she typed in her last commands. 

Beryl immediately took out her cellphone, and spoke towards it, "NOW, Rei, NOW!" 

Ranma could only watch as the liquid went towards his mouth, and all he could do was shout... 

Suddenly, Ranma felt a cold sticky liquid throughout all his body, and he saw his hands. Never in his life he felt so weak... Then, he realized that he wasn't breathing. 

Desperation, the only thing which made Ranma painfully stand up, and took his arms above him, and felt a weak small membrane like barrier. With all his strength, he ripped it off, and emerged from the cocoon like structure he was in. 

Everything was weird. First, he felt so weak, so cold. Second, he had pain all over him, as he saw his arms had wires attached all over him. Third, he couldn't feel himself swallowing because of something in his mouth. He could have fainted. There was something stuck in his mouth, and with both of his hands, he grabbed it, and forced it out, making him choke. 

With that out of the way, Ranma felt something else, and it seems to be stuck on his head. Getting his hand, he placed a few fingers and found out that he was bald, and then, he felt something metallic in his skin. He was so surprised that he felt something when he touched the metal. It was like it was part of him!

"W-what the..." Ranma looked around him, and saw everything was dark, with a few pillars filled with pink cocoons. Turning his head on his side, he saw that it wasn't normal cocoons. There were people inside!

Suddenly, there was a robot that came down towards him, and grabbed him in his neck. Ranma could only stare numbly at the robot. He wanted to do something. Anything. Mokou Takabisha, Hiryuu Shoten Ha, or maybe even the Amaguriken, but he couldn't. He couldn't feel his Ki, couldn't feel his power. He was so confused about that. He saw his life pass through his eyes. 

Then, something very painful. The thing behind him seem to be screwing out, and Ranma felt all the pain he could have ever felt, and then, like it came, it disappeared. The robot let him go in his neck, and Ranma gasped for air a bit, then shouted again as he felt the wires forcefully pull out of him. His arms, his back, his legs, he felt like he was being tortured for a moment, then, felt being sucked somewhere dark. 

By the time he regained his consciousness, he felt wet, cold, and out of air. He was in the water, yet he felt his arms too weak to move. A bright light from above, and saw something going towards him, and it caught him. Ranma lost consciousness again. 

Another flash of light, Ranma could only see two girls helping him up, and Beryl, yes, Beryl, in shabby clothes, looking at him. "Welcome..." she began, "to the real world..." Ranma lost consciousness again. 

++++++++

"We did it, Mai... we found him. We finally found him!" 

Ranma opened his eyes, and saw Beryl talking to Mai. 

"Are you sure he really is the one?" Mai asked. 

"Am... am I dead?" Ranma asked. 

"Far from it," Beryl replied, looking at him. 

"Why does my eyes hurt?" Ranma asked, closing his eyes at the bright light. 

"You never used them before," Beryl replied. Ranma was so confused, that if he was strong enough, he would have asked what she meant. Beryl read his face easily and gently tapped his shoulders. "Rest, Ranma. The answers are coming." 

++++++++

In the time Ranma was in la-la land, he felt pricks in his skin. He tried to open his eyes, but his sleepiness and grogginess were stopping him from actually waking up. He dreamed of nothing, then everything, then nothing. A few times, he saw a bright white light above him, while Beryl watched over him. There was another girl with the spiky green hair with her at that time, and they were talking about his muscles or something. He couldn't remember because everything was blended like a puree. 

Finally, after being lost in time, Ranma opened his eyes and found himself under an unfamiliar roof. Looking around him, he saw nothing but metallic walls, and felt something hard and soft on his back. Sitting up, he looked around him. The grogginess was gone, and so was his sleepiness. It was like he had a very good sleep. 

A prick in his arm made him look at it. Something was lodged in his arm, a needle, and it was lodged in one of the holes in his arms. Gripping the needle, he slowly took it out, gritting his teeth as he felt a very stinging pain in his whole system, and finally sighed as the pain disappeared when he finally took out his needle. 

He looked at his arms. There were many metallic holes in it. _So it wasn't a dream... but what the hell is going on here? _Ranma thought. Then, he remembered that his head also had that metallic hole, so, with slow moving fingers, he slowly tried to reach his bald head towards behind his head, and slowly touched it... 

****

SLAM!

Ranma jumped up a bit as he looked towards his left, and saw Beryl standing there, smiling a bit. "Awake now, I see..." 

Ranma looked at her. Her clothes were so... shabby! And so was his, as he looked down on himself. And why was he bald? Where did his great hair go? "Beryl, what's going on around here? Where am I?" 

"More important then where, is when," Beryl replied, raising her finger. 

Ranma moved his head, a bit annoyed by the way Beryl seem to regard him. Why can't anyone answer him directly? "Oh, fine, when?" 

Beryl smiled. "You believe it's a the year 1999, where in fact it is much closer to 19,999." Beryl watched Ranma's face contorted with confusion. "I can't exactly tell you the exact date, because we honestly don't know." 

"Then, what is going on?" Ranma asked. 

"Ah, please come with me," Beryl motioned Ranma to follow him. 

++++++++

"This is my hovership, the Ragnarok," Beryl stated proudly, giving her hand towards Ranma who was a ladder slowly. Ranma ignored her hand, and pushed himself up by himself. Beryl didn't seem to be insulted, and continued. "This is where we conduct our pirate signal, and hack into Crystal Tokyo." 

"Hack?" Ranma asked. 

"It means we force our way in Crystal Tokyo," Beryl replied easily. Ranma nodded, and followed her. A few steps later, Ranma noticed that the other girls were around as well, with shabby clothes as well. "You met Mai, Tama, right?" Beryl asked, pointing at the two girls. Ranma nodded. 

"Yeah, I know them," Ranma replied. "I recall Mai called Tama an anime maniac, right?" 

Mai giggled as Tama twitched. "Otaku..." Tama replied slowly. 

"And the girl with spiky green hair that you saw was in the computer is called Rahme," Beryl introduced. The girl with green hair was smiling, shaking his hand a bit too enthusiastically. Ranma nervously smiled in return. Were there any males here? 

"Oh, and Ranma, meet our operator, Rei," Beryl introduced, pointing at the girl with a pale complexion and short light blue hair, with red eyes. She nodded towards him excitedly. 

"H-hi! N-nice meeting you at last, Ranma-dono! I w-watched your whole life, and even h-hacked inside the CT's private libraries to see your past..." she said nervously. 

Ranma scratched his head. Out of all he heard, he only heard the part of calling him Ranma-dono. "Please Rei-san, call me Ranma," Ranma began, smiling a bit. 

"Oh, then that makes me Rei-chan!" Rei replied, smiling, laughing evilly. Ranma backed away from her for a while, and Rei scratched her head. "Sorry, Ranma-do... I mean, sorry Ranma, I got it from my mother. She was the greatest scientist of the universe!" 

"And modest too," Mai replied softly, which only Ranma could hear. 

"So, Ranma," Beryl called. Ranma turned to her. "You want to know what Crystal Tokyo is, right?" 

Ranma nodded. "Yeah..." 

"Then, please, follow me," Beryl began, then showed him to a bent chair. Ranma tried to relax when he sat down, but with Beryl's hand over his chest, forcing him down, he suddenly became nervous. "Relax Ranma," she began. 

"What are you going to do to me?" Ranma asked. 

Beryl smiled assuringly. "Don't worry Ranma, this won't hurt a bit... it'll just feel weird." And then, something seem to penetrate inside Ranma, and the boy opened his mouth to scream, but then, the pain was gone. Ranma opened his eyes, and found himself inside a white room. 

__

Where the heck am I? Ranma asked. 

"You are on the Matrix, Ranma," a voice called from behind him. Ranma turned around and saw Beryl looking at him with black leather again, sitting on a couch. She was smiling a t him. Ranma looked at himself. He had his Chinese clothes again, except this time it seem to be made of artificial leather. Approaching Beryl, he went towards one of the red leather chairs opposite of Beryl, and a TV was in front of them.

"The Matrix?" Ranma asked. 

"A program designed by Rei's mother. You can say we are inside a computer program, and everything around you is not real..." Beryl said. 

"Like that game I played when Akane invited me to the mall? What was the name of that thing again? RV?" Ranma asked. 

"It's VR, for Virtual Reality," Beryl replied, smiling. "And yes, it's something like that, except much more advanced." 

"Are you sure everything I'm seeing is not real? It looks kinda real to me," Ranma replied. 

"Yes it does look real, but it's not. As you can see, your clothes have changed, your hair has grown, and the plugs on your arm and head are gone," Beryl replied, and Ranma looked at himself again. He didn't see any holes he saw earlier. "The image you project right now is the computer generated of your mind. In short, it's your digital self." 

"You mean if someone drew me in a computer, I'll look like what I look like now? Man, whoever designed me had good tastes..." Ranma smirked. 

"My, modest aren't we?" Beryl joked. "Anyway, please watch the television as I explain what you might want to know..." 

The TV opened, and Ranma saw Tokyo from the bird's eye view. "It was in the middle of the 25th century when humankind celebrated together as a great power washed all over them," and Ranma watched as clear big castle seem to appear from Tokyo Tower. Beryl continued talking, sure that Ranma was still listening.

"Queen Serenity, a powerful reincarnated queen from a long lost civilization succeeded in calling forth her power to finally fulfill the dreams of all people... Eternal Peaceful world where everyone would treat each other with love, respect, and selflessness." 

Ranma saw the TV changed the scene. Tokyo changed a lot. All the dirty alleys were now miraculously clean, and people living their lives. He saw people socializing, getting food for free. "It looks peaceful..." Ranma said. 

"Yes, it was, or that is what the old people say said," Beryl began. "Like I said, it was a long time ago, so the history has been more or less erased. But what we do know is that Queen Serenity had wanted total peace to last forever, and she saw that people with magic powers, or even had a chaotic aura had to be banished." 

The TV changed scene, and it showed a family hugging each other as a glowing white woman with a staff pointing at them, and in a flash of light, the family disappeared. "What did she do to them? And who is she?" 

"That is Queen Serenity, and she banished them from Earth," Beryl replied. She shook a bit. "There were people, thousands of people who were deemed threats towards Crystal Tokyo, and were banished. Families were broken, and people protested. They formed underground movement, wanting to overthrow Serenity's reign. The Queen's royal guards, the Senshis, showed no mercy as they executed thousands of people who only wanted freedom."

"That... that's terrible..." Ranma watched in horror as he saw Senshis, different from the ones he knew, but nevertheless, Senshis, killing normal people. 

"Then, one of the founders of the Freedom Movement went to Serenity to ask for peace. Serenity promised him a safe passage, but it was a trap, and they captured our founder. They tried him in a biased court, and executed him," and the TV changed again. Ranma began to shake with anger. Of all the dishonorable tactics... 

"The Founder's wife was devastated with her husband's death, and declared an all out war..." Beryl pushed a button, and it showed people fighting, the Senshis throwing magical projectiles towards army of poorly armed soldiers. "The war lasted a thousand years, and the Freedom Movement's army were slowly decimated, and so was the Earth." And Beryl flipped another channel, and Ranma gasped as everything changed. From the white surroundings he was used to change to a dark atmosphere, where he saw cities wrecked, with only a white structure in the background emitting light. "Welcome to the desert of the real..." Beryl said gravely. 

Ranma stood up, his mouth wide open. Everything was wrong! This was not the Earth he knew! "What happened here?" Ranma asked desperately. 

"During the war, the leaders of the Freedom Movement found out the source of the powers of the Senshis. It was the exposure of their respective planets, and the moon," Beryl pointed up in the sky. "They somehow were able to scorch the sky, blocking the sun, the moon, and the radiating power of the planets. This helped a bit, but the Senshis seem to have reserves, and were still strong enough to defeat the Freedom's army, but by the time they seem to win the war, everything was devastated," Beryl clicked something again, and it showed pillars filled with pink orbs. "Queen Serenity could have healed the world with her powerful Crystal, but she couldn't. The missing moon reduced the power of the Crystal by half, and she just did what she could think of doing best... She used the remaining powers of the Crystal to form the Pillars." 

Ranma watched in horror as he saw babies inside the pink cocoons. "Those... those are the Pillars?" 

"Yes. The Pillars are created to take energy from humans to empower her Crystal," Beryl replied. "The human body has a high energy output, and the Queen found out how much power each human contained, so it began the era where humans aren't born anymore, but made." 

Ranma wanted to close his eyes. He saw dead adults, girls, boys, and babies being liquified, then being fed to the other living humans. He wanted everything to end. 

"In short, Crystal Tokyo is a computer generated dream world, and was designed to keep us in control, so they can turn a human being, into this..." and Beryl took out a battery cell. Ranma choked. 

"N... no... That's impossible... I can't believe you..." Ranma backed away from Beryl, his knees weak. Everything he lived, everything he did, was nothing but a mere fabrication of a false existence. Akane, the fiancées, the Kuno's... everything... It cant be fake! He ahd lived his life! It can't be!

"I didn't say it would be easy, Ranma," Beryl began. "I just said it would be the truth..." 

"NO! STOP IT! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Ranma shouted, and he found himself sitting up from the chair, the surroundings changing, and the girls trying to pin him down. "LET GO OF ME!" he shouted.

"Wait, Ranma!" Mai began. Ranma did relax a bit, and then he felt something in the back of his head removed, and then the girls released him. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Ranma shouted, and took his arm out, and threatened them not to touch him. He felt so weak. He felt so sick. "Get... away... from... me..." 

Beryl was in front of him, putting her hand on his shoudlers. "Ranma..." she began. By this time, Ranma was on his knees, his head moving around. 

"He's going to pop!" Tama said. 

"BREATH! DAMNIT, BREATH!" Beryl shouted a bit. Ranma bowed his head, and threw up and suddenly was comforted with unconsciousness. 

++++++++

Ranma opened his eyes, and saw Beryl watching him intently. She looked a bit happy to see him awake. He was not. He wanted to desperately to think it was all a dream. "It's real, huh?" 

Beryl nodded. "I'm sorry Ranma." 

"I can't go back?" Ranma asked. "Can't I go back to my life?" 

"Even if you could, would you, after being revealed the truth?" Beryl asked. Ranma couldn't reply, and just stared sadly at the ceiling. Beryl sighed. "I'm sorry, Ranma. There is a rule. We never free a mind after a certain maturity level. The mind has trouble letting go, and I've seen it. I'm sorry."

Ranma looked at Beryl. "Then, why...?" 

"Because I had to," Beryl replied easily. "Can you stand?" Ranma nodded, and Beryl motioned him to follow him. 

Ranma followed Beryl blindly, as she took him in the deep bowels of the Ragnarok, and wondered where she was bringing him. They finally stopped in a big metallic door, with frosted windows. 

Beryl took her hand, and began dialing on the keypad at the left of the door, and the big door opened. Ranma followed her inside, then gasped. In the center of the small room was a frozen standing figure and it looked exactly like Ranma's girl side except that her hair was loosely tied. 

"Who... who is she?" Ranma asked. 

"You noticed she looks like your girl side, huh?" Beryl asked. Ranma could only nod. "That girl was the direct descendant of the first founder of the Freedom Movement. Around her mind, she had this Chaotic Energy Factor, which somehow made her able to control what was inside the Crystal Tokyo, changed it as she pleased. She freed me and the other members on this ship, with a price. Somehow, the Senshis were able to entrap her mind, her consciousness, in a chaotic prison which you know as Jusenkyo." 

"Her mind was imprisoned?" Ranma asked. 

"Yes. Her consciousness left her body, and was stuck in one of the 'Jusenkyo' ports. Serenity forwarded the time, and made the other ports to make the place 'dangerous'. She didn't want anyone to actually go there and accidentally free her," Beryl looked at Ranma. "And you came, and got cursed with something that makes you change into a girl with a slight code of cold liquid. The Senshis were trying to find you, but with you changing back and forth from male to female, you were able to throw off their senses." 

Ranma looked at the girl. "You freed me because I have her mind, or her consciousness?" 

"Yes, that was one main reason," Beryl said a bit sadly. "But please don't think that was the only reason. It was coincidence that you had her in your mind." 

"So, you are going to like split her mind from mines, and get it back to her body?" Ranma asked. 

"Yes, but we don't know how," Beryl replied. "But there might be a chance that she might open up her mind to you, and your mind and hers would combine, giving you the power she had." 

Ranma kept quiet. The curse he hated so much was once again the cause of all the trouble. Looking at the girl, he could only watch with sorrow as the girl just stood there in her ice grave. He felt sorry for her. 

"Ranma, get some rest," Beryl began. "You'll be busy tomorrow." 

Ranma looked at the woman. "What for?" 

"Training..." 

To Be Continued...

NEXT: The truth of Crystal Tokyo is out, and Ranma realizes he is more important than he thought. Anyway, next, we have Ranma fighting Beryl, Ranma trying to fly, and Ranma finding blondes attractive! 


	3. Training

Ranma looked down on the dark floor contemplating what he saw and learned. The life he lived through, the quests he partook, the rivals, everything, was nothing but a lie. He had been living in a dream world for so long; he was nothing but a controlled human being, or partly human being. 

There was also more. Ranma was more or less confused at what he learned. He had the consciousness of a girl who could control anything in Crystal Tokyo. It was his cursed form which Beryl and the others needed badly, not exactly him. 

Everything was going to hell. He didn't know what to do, or even if he did, he never knew why he had to do. At first, he was grateful for Beryl. She showed him the truth, showed him the lie he had lived through. Although it was for some other greater purpose, he still felt grateful. 

The lights finally opened, and someone opened his door. Turning on head towards his visitor, he was a bit surprised to see Rei, not Beryl. 

"Had a nice sleep?" she asked, smiling. 

"No... I didn't feel sleepy, actually, Rei-san..." Ranma replied, then immediately regretted it when Rei looked like she was going to dive towards him, intent to kill. 

"REI-CHAN!" she shouted. Ranma nervously laughed. 

"Sorry, Rei-s... chan..." Ranma replied nervously. 

Rei sighed. "That's okay... Anyway, it'll be a busy day for you, so get ready." 

****

Project IV: Crystal Tokyo R

Chapter 02: Training

Rei lead Ranma towards the part where Ranma was first plugged. Rei was once again in front of the computer, beginning to type a few things. That's when Ranma noticed something. 

"You don't have any plugs, or holes on your body?" he asked. Rei stopped typing for a while, and looked at Ranma, and smiled. 

"Yeah. Unlike you, I was never part of Crystal Tokyo," Rei said, then frowned. "My mom was a great scientist, and a great ally for the Queen, but when the Queen tried to banish her son, she dropped her support." 

"Her son? You have a brother?" Ranma asked. 

"Well, I do have one sister, and sorry. It was my mom's son in law, but he was also my father. His name was Tenchi, and was part alien and part human..." Rei replied. 

"What?" Ranma asked, confused. "How can your mother's son-in-law be your father? T-that doesn't sound right..." 

"Oh, my mom said it was so easy. First, she took some DNA samples from him, combined with her DNA, and out came me," Rei said proudly. 

"What happened to your mom?" Ranma asked, wanting to change the subject. 

"Well, after I was born, the Queen demanded that I was to be banished, since I had my father's chaotic traits. My mom did the last thing she could do. She froze me in some warm ice block, and told me to enjoy the Earth when I woke up," Rei said sadly. "It was a very long time ago, before the Pillars were made. I don't know if my father or my mother, or even my sister are alive. They were banished, and I was left behind, somewhere deep in the Earth's core so the Queen wouldn't be able to reach me." 

"Wow... And I thought my life was depressing," Ranma replied. Rei's story was sad. She was left behind, for some unknown purpose, losing her only family a very, very, and make that a very long time ago. 

"Anyway, forget about me for a while, Ranma, and concentrate on the training today," Rei began. 

"Training?" Ranma asked. 

"Yeah," Rei replied. "Training. First, let's start with the fun parts..." and she began typing a few things in her computer. After a few seconds, she smiled. "Yes, first, combat training." 

"Combat training?" Ranma asked. "But I know how to fight. I don't need to learn that." 

"Oh, I know," Rei replied. "I'm just going to teach you the stuff you don't know, like Neko-ken, Complete Anything Goes, and others that you'll find very interesting." 

"N-neko-ken?" Ranma began nervously. "I... I don't want that!" 

Rei moved towards him, and smiled disarmingly. "Don't worry, Ranma. It's wont be like before," and she made Ranma sit on the couch, and with a quick hand, inserted something at Ranma's head port [instead of calling it hole]. Ranma tried to relax, and watched as Rei went back towards the computer. "Well, here goes nothing!" Rei said wildly, and pushed the execute button. Ranma suddenly closed his eyes as the data was somehow forced a bit on his mind. It only lasted a few seconds, because suddenly his mind opened up on the information, and then, after minutes, Ranma suddenly lunged for air. 

"Holishit!" Ranma cursed fast. 

"Well, I think my guinea pig likes it," Rei said, smiling. "Like some more." 

"Oh yeah..." Ranma replied, nodding. 

++++++++

Beryl, after eating some breakfast, went towards where Rei was usually at, and saw Ranma in the chair, information being downloaded in his mind. "How is he?" Beryl asked. 

"Are you shitting me, Beryl-san?" Rei said seriously. "I never saw anyone download so much information this fast! Normally, it would take 6 hours to get to the level of combat training I'm giving him to complete, but he is doing it in less than an hour!" 

"Well, I did mention he learns a lot of things faster than normal," Beryl replied. 

"Yes, but not this fast!" Rei began. Both females stared at the computer, and saw the percentage rise quickly to 100. Ranma opened his eyes, and saw both girls staring at him. He smiled. 

"I know Amazon Wu," Ranma replied. 

"Show me," Beryl said, smiling. 

++++++++

Ranma looked around him as he saw himself in a large dojo. He had a normal white gi, while Beryl, who was in front of him had a dark red gi. 

"This is a sparring program," Beryl replied. "It's one of those variations of the Matrix, and like Crystal Tokyo, it has the same rules, rules like gravity. What you must understand that these rules are no more rules of a computer program. Some of them can be bent. Others can be broken. Understand?" 

Ranma didn't, but nodded his head. 

"Then hit me, if you can," Beryl replied. 

Ranma went to a position, and waited until Beryl went to hers. She did so, slowly, and it was a stance he immediately recognized. It was a defensive stance. Ranma waited a minute, then suddenly, Beryl lunged towards him. 

Ranma watched, shock as Beryl came towards him unlike he ever saw before. She seem to be moving in slow motion, but it was only a second ago she was 2 meters away from him, and now she was right in front of him. She took out her arm and punched towards him. 

Ranma couldn't believe what he saw. For a moment, he saw Beryl adjusting her stance to make it more offensive. And the punch was fast! Amaguriken fast! 

Ranma barely dodged the punch, rolled to the ground, and he was about to get farther away from her when he saw her in front of him again, this time with a kick going towards his legs. Ranma bent down, and jumped up high in the air, and Ranma couldn't even catch his breath when Beryl was in front of him in the air, and she launched a multiple punch attack which made his Amaguriken pale in comparison. 

Ranma landed with a sickening crunch on the ground, the wooden floor gave away. Beryl made a backflip, and landed neatly on the floor, not even disturbing the air. She looked at Ranma's fallen form, and frowned. "Why didn't you attack?" she asked. 

Ranma coughed a bit. "I don't hit girls." 

Beryl sighed. "So, your useless against the Senshis, 'cause you can't hit girls, right?" 

"I'm sorry," Ranma replied, looking down. "I just wanted to see how good you are..." 

Beryl frowned. "No. You underestimated me, and thought I would be an easy person to defeat." Ranma was about to protest, when Beryl shook her head. "NO! I see it in your eyes. You have no desire to fight me seriously, so I had to show you how fruitless the thinking is. Females are just as strong in some points." 

Ranma sighed. She was right. "I'm sorry. I'll fight seriously this time..." 

"NO! There will be 'this' time, or 'next' time. I want you to fight seriously, always!" Beryl declared. "Many have underestimated our enemies, and died. I don't want anyone to make the same mistake."

"I won't! I'm sorry Beryl-san! I'll fight seriously this time!" Ranma replied. Standing up, he went to a serious stance, and assessed his opponent. _She's faster than anyone I saw before. She can punch faster than my Amaguriken. I have to use my Ki to make me faster to par with her..._

Ranma and Beryl both charged towards each other, intend of knocking each other out. 

++++++++

"HEY!" Tama shouted, barging her way in the mess room. "YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS! BERYL IS FIGHTING RANMA!" 

That caught the other two girl's attention, and proceeded to follow Tama. 

++++++++

Ranma couldn't believe it. Every punch, or kick he threw to the woman was either blocked, or countered. She got a lot of good hits on him, yet he could not even hit her back, even if his muscles were Ki augmented to be faster. Ranma feinted with his left arm, hoping to catch her off guard. He did, and Ranma watched Beryl open her arms, trying to block the fake punch he sent, and bent his abdomen a little, powering up a kick, and made his foot stab towards Beryl's exposed abdomen. 

Beryl suddenly grabbed Ranma's extended foot with both her open arms. Ranma was so surprised by the way her hand moved. He didn't see it! 

Beryl smiled, and twirled her arm around, making Ranma spin in the air, and slamming himself on the floor again. "Good! Very good!" Beryl said proudly. Ranma had a much better performance than the first fight. "Adaptation, and improvisation. But the problem is not your technique..." 

Ranma nodded, and then tried to trip Beryl with his left foot. Beryl smiled, and jumped up a bit, and the two began to fight anew. 

++++++++

Mai, Tama, Rei and Rahme watched the fight with some nibbles of food in their mouth, enjoying the blurry fight scenes of both Ranma and Beryl. 

"I never knew Ranma could do that!" Tama watched as Ranma launched mini Ki blasts towards Beryl, who was just dodging them like it was nothing. "I thought it would take a few more training simulations before any free mind could throw blasts." 

Rei watched uninterestingly. "Ranma was able to do that before his mind was free." 

"You're kidding, right?" Tama asked. Rei and the others shook their head. "THAT'S NOT FAIR! IT TOOK ME MONTHS AFTER BEING FREED TO LEARN! I'M GOING TO SNEAK UP ON HIM UNTIL HE TELLS ME HOW HE DID IT THAT EARLY!" 

"He's not an anime hunk, you know," Mai began. 

Tama blushes. "I didn't mean it like that!" 

++++++++

Ranma desperately tried to find a way to at least get a hit to her. She was no longer a female for him, but a very powerful opponent, and he never had this much fun ever since Ryouga showed him the Shi Shi Hodokan. But Beryl was fast, moving from place to place like she was nothing but air. He needed something to distract her enough to finish this quickly. He was beginning to tire. 

"Mokou Takabisha!" Ranma shouted, and threw one small but quick Ki blast towards the left side of Beryl, hoping he'd catch her off guard. He did, and Beryl thought that the blast was going to her current position, and moved a bit to the left, but then realized that she'd been duped, and jumped a bit in the air. That was all what Ranma needed. 

Jumping up in the air, he smiled. "Katchu Tenshin Amaguriken!" and gave out a hundred punches in one second... or was supposed to. Beryl smiled as she lashed her hand out in the last millisecond, and stopped Ranma's first incoming fist. Ranma finally realized the weakness of the Amaguriken. Once the initial punch is blocked, the body will be too unbalanced to follow up, and Ranma could only watch helplessly as Beryl launched a kick towards Ranma's midsection, and the boy flew towards one of the wooden pillars, and crashed into it with such force it broke. 

Ranma took his time breathing, and looked at the ground, contemplating the biggest loss he suffered so far. It wasn't until Beryl spoke that his mind stopped sulking. 

"How'd I beat you?" Beryl asked. 

"What kind of question is that?" Ranma asked. "You were like a damn superhuman! You were faster and stronger than I was!" 

Beryl smiled. "You think that my being stronger, or faster, has anything to do with my muscles in this place?" Ranma shook his head. What was she talking about? "Is that air your breathing right now?" 

"What?" Ranma asked, and looked at Beryl who shrugged her shoulders. 

"Anyway, stand up Ranma. We are going at it again," she announced. 

Ranma stood up, and went to a position. What did she mean that she isn't using her muscles? And about the air? 

Ranma was a bit distracted to start, so Beryl took initiative again, and launched herself towards Ranma. Unleashing a viscous punch towards his head, Ranma reacted instinctually, bending his back a bit, and countered with a backhand punch towards Beryl's exposed back. Beryl rolled front-wards, dodging the slap, and countered with her own attack, and did a quick three hit punch combo which took Ranma by surprise. The first two hit his chest, and the third was about to hit his head, when Beryl stopped her hand. Ranma was so surprised, that he backed away at once. 

"What are you waiting for? You're faster than this," Beryl began. "Don't think you are. Know you are." And she began to attack, and she pleasantly found herself surprised that Ranma began to par with her speed. He moved faster than anything she has seen him today, but it wasn't fast enough. With fists flying, she blocked the incoming chop, and bent her arm a bit, hoping to lock him into submission, but Ranma recovered, and dragged his other hand to support his other arm, and both his and Beryl's arms were locked together. "Come on! Stop trying to hit me and hit me!" Beryl barked.

Ranma grit his teeth. He could feel his body slowly tiring, but he ignored it. _My muscles aren't real! Nothing is real! Nothing is! _And he punched towards Beryl at faster speeds, that the woman found herself on the defensive this time. 

__

That is it, Ranma! Free your mind from these petty rules of a computer! Beryl thought. 

Ranma seem to faze out as he continued to make well placed punches, driving Beryl back. Ranma's hand blurred in a way that Beryl looked shock at as she tried to block his hands, but no matter how faster or harder she tried. She could only watch in shock as Ranma's hand finally got through her defenses, and a fist went travelling towards her face, stopping with only a few inches. 

Ranma took deep breaths, calming himself down. He never felt so powerful, never felt so... alive. "I... I think I know what you are trying to do," Ranma began. 

"I'm trying to free your mind, Ranma," Beryl replied. "At the time you trained yourself to throw a Ki blast, and learned how to harness Ki, what were your emotions?" 

"Huh?" Ranma was confused, and put his finger in his chin to think about it. "Actually, I was feeling a bit depressed, but then, I resolved myself to make it through. I used my confidence as a medium." 

"Exactly," Beryl said. Looking up, he talked towards the roof. "Rei, load the jump program." 

Ranma found himself in the sky, going downwards towards a roof of a high building. It was instant. One second he was in a dojo, next he was in the rooftops. 

"You have to let it all go, Ranma," Beryl began. "Fear, doubt and disbelief. Like when you try to channel Ki, free your mind." And with that, Beryl took a few steps, jumped upwards, very high in the air, higher than Ranma could ever hope to achieve, and traveled along a very wide distance, towards another building. Ranma could only watched, scrubbing his eyes a bit. 

"Whoa..." Ranma looked. 

++++++++

"You think he can be able to do it?" Tama asked. 

"Who knows," Mai replied. 

"Come on, Ranma-dono!" Rei said excitedly. 

++++++++

Ranma scrubbed his hands together. "Okay, Ranma! Free your mind!" he repeated, and repeated again. "Free your mind..." and he took a dashing step, ran towards the edge, and jumped up high in the air... 

Beryl watched with amazement as the boy made it with his first jump. Never, in history has a freed mind was able to do that, and she watched with amazement as Ranma landed neatly in front of her, sweating bullets, but his eyes resolute. 

"H-how'd I do?" Ranma asked, looking up to her. 

"You did the impossible, Ranma," Beryl replied in truth. 

Ranma beamed. 

++++++++

"I... I... I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Tama shouted, wringing her hair out. "HE DOES A KI BLAST, HE MAKES HIS FIRST JUMP, AND HE BEATS BERYL FIRST DAY OF THE TRAINING!" 

"Well, Beryl did have high hopes for him," Rei said neutrally. 

"I thought you were the one admiring your 'Ranma-dono', Rei," Mai said, smiling. 

"Whatever," Rei said coldly. Mai giggled, which was ignored by the blue hair wonder, and before Mai could tease the girl more, Rei told them, "Hey, I'm disconnecting them already." 

Mai took care of Beryl's port connection, while Tama took out Ranma. 

Ranma opened his eyes, and saw the ceiling of the ship. He stood up slowly, and then suddenly clutched his chest as he felt pain searing through him. "What... the hell?" looking at Beryl, he asked. "I think I feel sore all over... from the sparring?" Beryl nodded. "But I thought it wasn't real." 

"Your mind makes it real," Beryl replied. "What the mind conceives body achieves. Your mind conceived a beating when we sparred, and your body achieved it." 

Ranma took some time to understand what she said. "So, if you die in Crystal Tokyo, you die for real?" 

"The body can't live without the mind," Beryl replied. 

Ranma nodded painfully, and was about to stand up when he felt something push him down. Ranma's eyes widened as he saw Tama cradle on top of him, pinning him down. "T-Tama, what are you doing?" 

"ALRIGHT! YOU BETTER TELL ME HOW YOU DID ALL THAT!" Tama demanded, pushing her body nearer to Ranma. The boy suddenly became uncomfortable, and tried to move away, but his body was still in pain. "TELL ME!" 

"Tama," Mai began, shaking her head. "You do that, Ranma will begin to like you." 

"Really?!" Tama blushed. "Well, it was a long time since I had a male crewmember." 

Ranma suddenly began to look nervous as the other girls, save Beryl were giving him the looks. It was the look of a girl licking her chops, and imagining herself naked with him. Ranma shivered. 

"Uh, that is really nice, Tama, but not that I hate you girls, but I like other types of girls," Ranma said nervously. 

"Then what girls do you like?" Beryl asked, smiling. 

"Uh, blondes!" Ranma replied, noticing no one in the crew were blonde. 

"Uh, I'm blonde!" Tama said desperately. 

"No your not," Rei said neutrally. "You're a carrot top." 

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Tama shouted. 

Ranma watched the girls, save for Beryl fighting. 

"I will never understand girls," he said dejectedly. 

To Be Continued: 

NEXT: Ranma finally advances on his training, able to manipulate Ki [an abbreviation of Kaotic Energy], and finally meets the famous Oracle! 

Author's Notes: Yes, it might seem it's a re-written Matrix story, but as you progress, you'll see it isn't. Just be patient. Ja ne! 


	4. The Oracle

****

Project IV: Crystal Tokyo R

Chapter 03: The Oracle

Red targets suddenly appeared from behind Ranma, and the boy didn't even bat an eye, as he moved his hand towards behind his head, and a large KI blast came out of his hand. The large blast exploded into smaller pieces, and pieces went towards the targets, hitting them. 

"Very good, Ranma!" Beryl said proudly, clapping her hands. It's been already a week, but Ranma's KI [now dubbed for Chaotic Energy] improved vastly. He was a natural, his focus was his great strength, and because of his focus, he thought he was tapping on some of his girl's side's powers. 

Which reminded Ranma, he never knew the name of his girl side. "Beryl?" 

"Yes?" Beryl replied. 

"Do you know the girl... inside me?" Ranma asked. "The one who set you guys free?" 

Beryl looked at Ranma, and frowned. "Why do you want to know about 'her' all the sudden, Ranma?" 

"Because..." Ranma paused. "I can't help but think the fact that everything I am doing might be her doing. I don't like that. I live my own life." 

Beryl smiled. "Yes, I know what you mean, Ranma. Believe me, when I say this, that you are doing things in your abilities. All your life, even before you were cursed, you had this ability that to learn things faster than anything anyone has ever seen."

"But all the things Tama is telling me," Ranma began, "that the things I am doing, like it was 'her'..." 

"Tama is one of the newest recruits we have, Ranma," Beryl cut Ranma off. "The stories of Naia and her CHI were a bit blown out of proportion." 

"Naia? CHI?" Ranma asked, confused. 

"Oh, sorry. Naia is 'her' name, and CHI is 'her' power," Beryl said. "KI, as I explained to you a week ago, is actually Chaotic Energy, while CHI is Chaos Energy, a much more powerful and concentrated energy which allowed 'her' to do almost impossible things in Crystal Tokyo." 

"Like what?" Ranma asked. Maybe he could do some of the things 'Naia' does, and maybe he can outmatch her! After all, he still, after all the things, wants to be the best. 

"Well, she could fly like Superman, stop projectile attacks from reaching her, be faster than anyone could ever be. She was very fast, faster than you currently are," Beryl said, smiling. "She was such a Chaos Wielder that the Senshis took 15 years to get rid of her." 

Ranma sighed dejectedly. "That wasn't out of proportion?!" Ranma asked sarcastically.

"Hehehe... Don't worry. When I met her, I was also looking up to her, hoping to do the things she does, but then, I realized that her powers came at a price," Beryl frowned a bit. 

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked. 

Beryl frowned deeply this time. "I told you Naia was a direct descendant of the original leader of the Freedom Movement, right?" 

"Yeah, you did..." Ranma replied. "So?" 

"She was never part of Crystal Tokyo to begin with," Beryl replied. "She had no port on her head, kinda like Rei." 

"Really?" Ranma asked. "Then how could she enter Crystal Tokyo?" 

Beryl smiled sadly. "She asked to go into painful surgery, where she had her brain partly cybernated and a port in her brain. People say they heard her scream for weeks, until the pain subsided." 

"Why... why did she do it?" Ranma asked, shocked. "If it was so painful, why did she do it?" 

"She wanted to do what she believed in," Beryl replied. "She wanted to finish the war." 

Ranma bowed his head. The more he knew, the more confused he gets. 

"Ranma," Beryl called. 

"Yes?" 

"I think you are ready," Beryl said. 

"Ready for what?" Ranma asked. 

"To see the Oracle." 

=Crystal Tokyo; Juuban District=

"You know, it's been a few weeks already," Minako began worriedly. "That boy disappeared with that youma. You don't think he's dead now, do you?" 

"Maybe," Makoto said sadly. "Sigh, and he looked like my old semapi." 

"This... this is unheard off," Ami began. "I mean, when did we hear a youma just take a human, and not just drain him?" 

"Maybe she just likes him, and maybe he just likes her," Usagi said, chopping down on an ice cream cone. "I mean, that just means that there is also love in youmas, right?" 

Makoto and Minako pretended to throw up. "A human and a youma? Not on my shift..." they both said. 

"What about the Outers?" Rei finally spoke. "Do they know anything?" 

Ami shrugged her shoulders. "Haruka, Hotaru and Michiru don't know anything. Pluto is still... Pluto." 

"Man, she never says anything!" Rei replied. 

"I wish I had her power so I can see what happened to that hunk!" Minako said pleadingly. 

=Ragnarok; The Real World=

"Okay, everyone patched in?" Rei asked. Five simultaneous heads nodded. "Okay, so everyone please try to be careful. I don't want any of you, my guinea pigs, to be damaged, alright?" 

Mai laughed. "Don't worry Rei-chan! We'll bring your Ranma hunk back in one piece!" 

Rei blushed. "Shut up!" 

"Don't worry, Rei-chan," Ranma said seriously, his eyes closed. "Just guide us and we'll be back in no time." 

"S-sure, Ranma-dono..." Rei replied, and began typing the commands. 

=Crystal Tokyo=

In one empty apartment, a lone phone began to ring. It rang for a few times, until out of the blue, five people were on the background, each with black coats and pants and shades. Ranma blinked as he saw the obscuring opaque glasses in his eyes. He took them off. 

Beryl picked up the phone, and said in a neutral voice. "We are here. Yes..." she frowned. "But Rei-chan... oh, fine... Ranma?" Beryl called. 

"Yeah?" Ranma replied. 

"For you," Beryl said, bringing the phone towards him. Ranma blinked, and took the phone. 

"Hello, Rei-chan? Yeah... yeah... what about it? Hey... But I don't wanna...! You got to be shittin me!" Ranma cursed the last part softly. "Oh fine... fine... Alright!" and he gave the phone back to Beryl. 

Mai, Tama and Rahme looked at each other, and then to Ranma. "What was that all about?" Tama asked. 

"Rei 'asked' me to wear my glasses, but I don't wanna," Ranma replied, sighing silently. "But she said that if I didn't, she'd... uh... nothing." 

"She was going to do what?" Mai asked. 

"Nothing, hahaha!" Ranma began to scratch his head nervously. _She won't do anything but tell the others that I like girls with short hair... _Ranma thought nervously. He noticed that the girls would go heights to please him, and if he said that he likes girls with short hair, they would cut their real hair short, and ask Rei to cut their digital hair. He sighed. Rei had researched him well. He put on his glasses and blindly followed the girls, and thought about the Oracle he was going to meet. 

During those times of thinking, he unwittingly followed the girls around the interior of the building, and only when they got out, where the sun shone on his face, did his train of thoughts were derailed. He blinked, and his irises adjusted as the sun shone brightly. He smiled. The air was so Japan, and his surroundings were the same. It was almost impossible to say that everything around him was fake. He sighed. 

Ranma took a look around him, and realized something. "Hey, this is where you guys brought me from before..." and he was right. Mai brought him exactly at the same spot where they freed his mind. 

"Yes Ranma," Beryl replied. "This building is our meeting point. If you get lost in CT [Crystal Tokyo] all you have to do is go here." 

"Oh, okay," Ranma replied. The girls smiled. Ranma smiled back nervously. "So, uh, where do we find this Oracle guy?" 

"The Oracle is a woman," Beryl replied, smiling. 

"Really?" Ranma asked, surprised. 

"Sigh, you still are a male chauvinist," Beryl sighed. "I bet when you first heard about me from Mai, you though I was male, right?" 

Ranma froze. He slowly put his hand behind him, then began laughing forcefully and nervously. "Hahahahaha? You really thinks so? I wasn't, really!" 

"Liar!" Mai exclaimed, frowning, putting her arms on her chest. "You always asked, 'When can I meet this Beryl guy?'" 

"EHK!" Ranma choked, and looked at Beryl, expecting to see her angry. He was so surprised that she was actually smirking, not insulted, and enjoying the conversation. He found it weird, and a bit of welcoming from the glares of Akane. 

"Okay, Tama, and Rahme, watch this place, and escape if the Senshis detect you," Beryl ordered calmly. 

"Don't worry, we won't use our KI so we can cover ourselves for some time," Tama replied. 

"Why won't you use your KI?" Ranma asked. 

"KI is easily detected by the Senshis," Rahme explained. "They can find us much more easily if we use our KI." 

"Which is why we are going to the Oracle by car," Beryl said. Ranma blinked, and looked back at Beryl. 

"Huh? We won't just walk there, or jump?" Ranma asked. He was curious if his skills improved with KI, and wanted to try it out. He couldn't wait to see the face of the old ghoul that he can now jumped 10 times longer horizontally than he could before.

Beryl smiled. "I know you want to try your skills Ranma, but as Rahme said, if we use our KI, the Senshis could find us. And while walking won't arouse suspicion from normal people, they could easily recognize Mai or me." 

"You guys fought the Senshis before?" Ranma asked, surprised. That was the first time he heard it. 

"We did," Mai replied quickly, looking at Ranma, her eyes clearly saying 'Do not ask'. Then, she looked back at Beryl. "I called it when we arrived. It said it should be arriving around..." a taxi drove slowly towards the front of the building, in front of Beryl, Mai and Ranma. "... now." 

Ranma looked at the taxi, and to Mai. He smirked. "Hey, you brought enough money?" 

Rahme and Tama were awarded a sight of Mai trying to stuff Ranma in the trunk. 

+++++++

Ranma watched the scene pass through the window. People living their lives, not really knowing the truth. He sighed, and looked at the other side. He saw a mob of girls chasing a diminutive form with a large bag on his back in the background, a bit far away. "Dirty old lech," Ranma chuckled. He looked towards his right again, and saw Ucchan's. "Damn... I miss them." 

"Miss who?" Mai asked. 

"My friends," Ranma replied sadly. He pointed at the entrance of the Cat Café, and smiled. "See that restaurant? It is owned by one of the matriarchs of the Amazon. She taught me a lot of things about KI manipulations." 

"She is 300 years old," Beryl replied. "In her life, she would have more or less, able to harness KI, but not to the extent of ours." 

"You mean that right now, I'm stronger than the old ghoul?" Ranma asked excitedly. 

"You can wipe the floor with her, as you can say," Beryl said, smiling at his enthusiasm. 

Ranma smirked. He couldn't wait... then, he realized that he'll never see them again. He sighed. "I have many memories of them. What does it mean?" 

Mai stayed silent, while Beryl looked at him. "It doesn't mean anything. You lived your life, no matter how fake it is. That is one of those things which can make us human," Beryl replied. 

Ranma nodded silently. He looked towards Beryl. "Anyway, who is this Oracle?" 

Beryl smiled at the change of subject. "The Oracle is one of those gifted people to be able to show people their paths. She is a guide for us, a light, which can lead us to our destinies." 

"Sounds like a old woman with a crystal ball," Ranma replied without thinking. "Is she always correct?" 

"Don't think things like black and white," Mai replied coldly. "As Beryl-san has said, she is a guide." 

Ranma blinked. "Geez, what gotten your panties all crooked? Is it one of those days?" 

The Taxi suddenly skewered left, then right, then left, then right as Ranma tried to dodge every punch Mai was sending on his way... 

+++++++

Finally, after a grueling chase of fist and face, Ranma, Mai and Beryl finally arrive at the place where the Oracle is residing. Looking around him, he saw he was in one of the darker parts of Juuban. The smell wasn't that bad, but the surroundings were sorrowful. People with ragged clothes, dirty skin, naked small children. He looked at them sadly. 

Beryl, Mai and him passed by them without a word, and they, in turn, didn't even seem to respond to their presence. 

Finally, after walking for a few minutes, Beryl and Mai stopped in front of a battered building. Ranma could see the age through the cracks in it. Entering, the three figures walked inside the building. The interior was just as shabby as the outside, and just as old looking. Walking inside the halls, Beryl pressed a button to call down an elevator. Waiting for a few moments, Ranma wondered why it seems silence was implemented. Beryl and Mai were so silent, that Ranma thought someone died. 

TING!

Ranma blinked as the door opened. He first noticed that the room was small, barely large enough for him and someone else. Beryl and Mai nodded to each other, and the former proceeded towards the elevator, and motioned Ranma to approach her. 

Ranma squeezed himself a bit as he entered, and tried to give some space for Mai. Mai just shook her head, and Beryl pressed one of the buttons of the elevator, making the doors close. 

Ranma looked at Beryl. "Why are we leaving Mai behind?" 

"She's there to stand guard. We are meeting an important person, and the risks are high," Beryl replied. "We are taking the utmost precautions that nothing goes wrong." 

Ranma nodded, and waited in silence as the elevator moved up. After a few minutes though, his curiosity overwhelmed him, and asked Beryl, "Beryl, did you meet the Oracle?" 

Beryl looked like she was taken aback by Ranma's question, but she smiled. "Yes, I did." 

"What did she tell you?" Ranma asked. 

"She said I would find the boy who held Naia's consciousness," Beryl smiled. "And the boy would be able to beat a powerful program named Saffron." 

Ranma blinked, and frowned. "Program? Saffron?" he asked. "You mean, Saffron was a program?" 

"Yes, and a powerful one at that," Beryl smiled. "And you, a non-freed mind, beat him, using KI to destroy him. And imagine, that that program could go toe to toe with a group of Senshis, only to be beaten by you." Beryl smiled at him widely. "Either it was Naia's doing, or your own true effort, but either one, it seems we have a powerful ally. I, like what I said from the day we finally met, am honored to have met you." 

Ranma blushed, and kept quiet after that... 

TING!

The doors opened, and Beryl took the first step out. Ranma followed her lead, and both walked into a narrow corridor. Time passed by faster than Ranma could anticipate. It was either of his excitement, or his fear of what he might discover after he talked with the so called Oracle. 

Ranma was so busy with his thoughts that he bumped into Beryl's back. "Ow..." Ranma muttered softly. Looking up, he saw Beryl frozen stiff. "Hey, Beryl, are we here?" 

Beryl looked at Ranma, and nodded. Motioning the door, Beryl began, "Ranma, before you enter this door, I must tell you one thing." 

"What is it Beryl-san?" Ranma asked. 

"That from here on, it will be your choice what to do. I can only show you the door, but only you can walk through it," Beryl said neutrally. 

Ranma nodded, and grabbed the doorknob and suddenly pushed to open the door... 

BANG!!

Ranma froze, as he felt the door bang on something hard. "Uh... what was that?" 

Beryl frowned, and peaked at the narrow opening at the door. She suddenly gasped. "OH MY GOODNESS! YOU JUST HIT THE ORACLE'S CARETAKER!" 

Ranma twitched, and his legs were ready to run... 

+++++++

"Please wait HERE with the other gifted ones," the girl who Ranma accidentally knocked unconscious with the door ordered him with the coldest voice Ranma has ever heard. Ranma smiled nervously, and waited for the girl to walk away. 

When she did, Ranma let out a very relieved breath. The girl was scary when she was angry, and more so when she had a bandage on her head [Ranma opened the door so forcefully, that a wound opened]. The way she glared at him, it was worse than ten Akane's put together. 

Looking around him, he suddenly looked surprised at as the girl left him alone with other 'gifted' ones. They were a group of males, all of them looking behind a 'Playboy' magazine, and were drooling. 

Ranma didn't have any idea why they would be doing so, but yet, Ranma felt something was wrong with their drooling. Ranma felt it, and was about to ask when he finally noticed it. Their saliva never seems to reach the floor. 

"They are like that," a female voice said behind Ranma. Surprised, Ranma turned around, and his eyes feasted on a curvy girl, red head with a school uniform licking a lollipop. Ranma felt his jaw was hanging, so clamped it shut. The girl must have noticed, because she laughed. "Ne... how cute." 

Ranma coughed, and tried to laugh with her. He didn't have a chance because the girl dove towards him, placing her face near his', staring at his eyes. Ranma stared back, and he found himself lost on the girl's blue eyes. "Uh... what are you doing?" Ranma asked. 

The girl smiled, and moved her head away a bit. Ranma relaxed, and looked at the girl again. She was really pretty. "Oh, I'm trying to find out more about you..." she said with a smile. "So far, I know you are a kind man, a gentleman, and have no real lewd thoughts. You've been broken by wrong ideas, making your mind closed to other wonderful aspects in life." 

"Like what?" Ranma asked, curious. 

"Like sex!" the girl replied, shaking her head. She seems to feel sorry for Ranma for not even knowing! "You know love already, but sex..." she shook her head. 

Ranma choked. The girl was embarrassing him! "H-hey! How'd you even say that you now know about me? We just met!" 

"It's in your eyes," the girl said wistfully. She sighed. "You're going to be a loyal husband. I'm so jealous of the woman who you will marry..." The girl took another lick at the lollipop, and let some of her saliva moisten the candy. She handed it to Ranma. The boy looked at the girl with confusion, and he just waved his hand. 

"Sorry, but no thanks," Ranma said nervously. 

The girl giggled softly. "Watch this..." and she stared at her candy. Ranma looked at curiosity, and tried to see what she was trying to do, and then, to Ranma's amazement, the lollipop bent extended, and bent down. And it wasn't the stick! It was the candy itself! 

"How...?" Ranma couldn't finish her sentence, as he watched the saliva seem to dribble out of the lollipop, drying it, and the liquid fell towards the ground. Then, Ranma watched with amazement as the liquid stopped in mid air, just a few centimeters from the floor. 

"Whoa... how'd you do that?" Ranma asked. The girls just shrugged her shoulders.

"Easy. I just know the truth." 

"What truth?" Ranma asked. 

"Nothing is real in this world. Nothing," the girl replied. Then she smiled. "And about the liquid not going to the floor... the Oracle doesn't want dirt in her floor. She put some kind of program, which prevents dirt or any other things on the floor. Speaking of which, it seems you're going to see her now." 

Ranma was about to ask about what she said, when he felt a tap on his shoulders. Turning around, he smiled nervously as he greeted the girl who he accidentally hurt. "The Oracle will see you now," she said coldly. 

Ranma nodded, and stood up. Looking back at the girl with the lollipop, he waved a bit, and followed the other woman towards another part of the apartment. 

The girl smiled, and looked wistfully at Ranma's back. "I wish your father hooked me up with you..." 

+++++++

"Please go in," the girl woman with the banged head said coldly, and literally shoved Ranma towards another door. The boy just let everything go with the flow, and sighed as the woman closed the door behind him with a slam. Taking a look around, he saw himself in the kitchen.

"Why, hello," another female voice said from his left. Ranma jumped up a bit in surprise, and looked towards where the voice was coming from, and found himself staring to at another set of red eyes staring back at his. 

"WAH!" Ranma jumped back in surprise, and fell over something behind him. He heard something shatter, and some cold liquid in his back. He then felt a tingle in his body, and sudden tightness in his chest. 

"Well, the rumors were true," the woman in front of Ranma said calmly, smiling a bit. "You really do look like 'her'." 

"W-who are you?!" Ranma demanded. 

"What? I'm the Oracle," the woman replied. Ranma stared at the woman more intently. She looked young... mature young, sexy, and had her green hair tied in a ponytail behind her. Her red eyes were boring into him, scrutinizing him. "She really looks like you." 

"You... you're the Oracle?" Ranma asked. 

"Not what you expected?" the Oracle asked. Ranma-chan was shook her head. 

"Well, not really..." Ranma-chan replied. 

"Well you turn to a girl, and the girl who looked like Naia," the Oracle replied. 

"Do you have hot water?" Ranma asked. 

"Right in the sink, kid," the Oracle replied. Ranma nodded his thanks, and approached the sink. Turning the tap with the red dot, he helped himself with the pouring hot water. 

"Thanks," Ranma replied, now male again. 

"No problem, kid," the Oracle replied. The Oracle moved towards the oven, and bent down. "Sigh... it'll take a while." 

"What will take a while?" Ranma asked. 

"The cookies I'm trying to bake," the Oracle replied. "Hey, taste some before you leave, okay?" 

"Uh... sure," Ranma replied, scratching behind his head. "So, um, Beryl asked me to meet you... like... I don't know." 

The Oracle smiled kind of sadly. "You don't know why you are here?" 

Ranma shook his head. 

"Well... it all comes to this..."

To Be Continued...

NEXT: The Oracle explains everything to Ranma... or what Ranma needs to know. What will he find out?

Author's Note: This sucks... college, exams, it's taking my time away, and I can't get to improve this writing of mine! I read it all, and it sucks! Sigh, I have to get the next chapter better. Ja ne!


	5. Truth and Lies

****

Project IV: Crystal Tokyo R

Chapter 04: Truth and Lies

"It all comes to this, huh?" the Oracle asked the boy in front of her. She sighed. "It's been too long for us. Crystal Tokyo had been almost untouched for years by the resistance. The 'Freeminds' need 'her'." 

"You are talking about Naia, right?" Ranma asked. "My girl side, right?" The Oracle nodded. "Then please tell me, how do we release her?" 

The Oracle sadly smiled, and ignored Ranma's question. Standing up from her seating position, she looked outside the window. Ranma followed her gaze, and looked towards the light blue sky. 

"Do you really want to know, Ranma?" the Oracle asked. 

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked, looking back at her. 

Turning around to face the boy, the Oracle didn't have that sad smile in her face. Instead, she had a burning aura in her eyes, and a very cold mask that Ranma has never seen. Even Soun's demon head would have sweated. It made Nabiki look like a baby in comparisson! "I mean, do you want to know what I am going to say to you? Are you even ready to hear what I am going to tell you?" 

"Tell me what?" Ranma asked, a bit nervous about the Oracle's expression now.

"The truth," the Oracle replied. Pausing a bit, the woman took a stroll to one of the cabinets, opened it, and took out a bottle of alcoholic drink. Pouring herself a glass, and then poured another. She gave the second glass to Ranma. "Drink this up." 

Ranma shook his head. "Sorry, I don't drink." 

"You will once I tell you this," the Oracle replied, and then drank deeply in the glass. After taking her drink, Ranma noticed a flushed expression in her face. Whatever she drank, it was strong. "As much as Beryl explained to you, Naia was a Chaos Wielder, able to change the coding inside Crystal Tokyo, making her, for the lack of term, a 'god'. Five years, the Senshis in Crystal Tokyo tried to fight her off, but they couldn't. It wasn't until one time where Naia, out of her overconfidence, slipped and fell into the Queen's trap." 

"Jusenkyo," Ranma replied. 

"Right, Jusenkyo, or for it's proper name: the Recycling Bin," the Oracle replied. 

"Why is it called..." 

"Why is it called the Recycling Bin?" the Oracle asked, cutting Ranma off. She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know." Ranma fell off his seat. 

"What do you mean you don't know?" Ranma asked sarcastically, unbelieving. 

"Well, I didn't name it," the Oracle replied calmly. "All I know that Jusenkyo stores data which were 'thrown' away, and the only thing which can release the data is for another program to easily merge with it." 

"Merge?" Ranma asked. 

"Yes, merge. Like when you are half girl, and half boy," the Oracle continued. "Inside of you lies a coding for a female and a male. Of course, since the rules in Crystal Tokyo try to make every rule inside it logical, a male and a female can never be merged. So, it did the next best thing." 

"What?" Ranma asked. 

"Nature has always been divided by opposites. Male:Females, Hot:Cold, and others, right?" the Oracle asked. Ranma nodded. "Well, to at least compensate for the extra data you have, Crystal Tokyo made a loop hole. Once dabbed in water, your male code emerges, and when dabbed with cold water, your female code emerges. But unlike true merges, the memories of the girl are not shown to you. Tell me if I'm wrong, but until now, you never really knew the girl who drowned in the pool, am I right?" 

Ranma frowned as he thought about it. What the Oracle had said hit true. He never really knew who the girl was. Even the guide was a bit vague on his explanations. Then, it hit him. "I heard Musks use the Spring of the Drowned Young Girl to make animals into female humans. After dumping many in that pool, how are you all sure that Naia is in me?" 

"Ah, good question," the Oracle replied. "Well, no one can tell exactly, except for one thing. Before being freed, your life was filled with Chaos. Rivals, challenges, the works, right?" 

"Yes..." Ranma replied. 

"Well, Beryl ignored it. After all, some of your rivals can manipulate KI already, right? But then, here comes the clincher. Of all the Chaotic Energy wielded, only one was strong enough to defeat a strong program named..." the Oracle paused, and seem to wait an answer from Ranma. 

"Saffron?" Ranma replied, unsure. 

"Correct!" the Oracle answered, smiling. "Yes, of all the non-freed minds which can wield KI, only one was able to beat a program like Saffron. From then, Beryl was sure you were the one hey were looking for. You had Naia's data deep inside you, that during your desperate time, you were able to use her CHI to defeat Saffron." 

"So... it wasn't exactly me, huh?" Ranma said sadly. "When I beat Saffron. It wasn't of my own doing, huh?" 

"Hey, don't give me that face!" the Oracle said. "Don't say it wasn't your own effort! Trying to access her CHI is hard enough, but using it? If you weren't powerful enough, her CHI would have ripped you apart when you used it." 

"Really?" Ranma asked, surprised. "Is CHI really that powerful?" 

"Yes, that powerful," the Oracle replied. "And for you, a non-freed mind during that time, was able to access it, even only at the fraction of the power, it took all you had inside to harness the power safely." 

Ranma pondered on what the Oracle said. Yes, it was true. When he used his KI reserves, he felt another type of power linger in is KI. It roared through his veins at that time, and he felt like he was going to burn up. Ranma sighed at the memory. "Yes... I felt her CHI too, at that time... That is what Beryl wants right?" 

"Yes, unfortunately. No matter how well you perceive her to be, she's obsessed in reviving Naia," the Oracle sighed. "She believes that Naia would come back. She believes it so blindly that she would be willing to sacrifice anyone, including herself, in order to do so." She took another swig. "Like your third question, on how to release your girl side... well..." 

Ranma stared at the Oracle. Her green hair was moving softly in the air. Her red eyes were sad, and her hand wouldn't stop making circles in the table. Whatever was inside her mind, she didn't seem to want to express it. "Oracle, what is it? Tell me." 

"There is only one way to get the data out of you," the Oracle replied finally. "You have to die..." 

"... WHAT?!" 

+++++++++

"They certainly have been taking their time," Rahme said to no one in particular. Standing guard in the entrance of the building can do wonders to a bored mind. For once, Rahme started thinking about her family she had left in Crystal Tokyo. 

She was the only daughter of a powerful computer business tycoon. She received her personal computer at the age of 6, and since then, her life revolved around computers.

Rahme sighed. When she was ten, she stumbled upon Beryl, who offered her to show her the truth. After 3 years, she accepted, and here she was ever since. 

ZIP!

Rahme froze as a laser sound whipped up behind her. Sitting up from her position, she walked towards the other room where Tama was resting... she wasn't resting anymore. 

"COME HERE!" Tama shouted as she threw another small KI laser towards a crawling cockroach. "HAH! GOTCHA!" and she missed again. "OH MAN!" 

"TAMA BAKAA!" Rahme shouted angrily. "STOP USING YOUR KI! THE SENSHIS CAN EASILY FIND US!" 

"Oh, don't be a dud, Rahme," Tama replied, still taking shots at the moving cockroach. "They would most likely ignore this small bursts!" 

+++++++++

"Are you sure?" Rei asked Ami as the blue head lead them towards one of the darkest parts of Juuban. Behind them were Makoto, Minako, Usagi and the two cats. 

"I'm very sure," Ami said. Her computer picked up another dark energy spike. It was small, almost a pinprick of the weakest enemy. But even though it was small, it was still worth an investigation since it always appears on one part of Juuban. Now the trouble was finding it. 

"Eh... could we please hurry?" Usagi asked nervously. "This place gives me the creeps..." 

Makoto and Minako looked at each other, and began to grin evilly behind Usagi's back. Whistling disarmingly, they tried not to look suspicious. When Usagi finally looked nervous enough, they moved... 

"EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!" a very girly shout was heard all over Japan.

+++++++++

"I have to die?" Ranma asked, shocked. The Oracle nodded sadly and took another swig of her drink, finishing it. Ranma looked frozen white as his brain still tried to get the words to sink in. After a few minutes, he took a swig from his own glass, and the drink was so hard enough to make him cough as he swallowed. 

"Told you, you would need a swig," the Oracle said, laughing as she refilled her own glass. "I know a lot of things, and can predict the future. That's why they call me the Oracle." And she laughed again. 

"I don't think this is the time to laugh," Ranma said bitterly. "I want to help Beryl as much as I can, but I have to die in order to do so? Why?" 

"It's is the order of things. The merge was so closely tied, that for Naia to be released, you have to die," the Oracle said sadly. "It's a sad truth, that even the truth can sometimes be worse than lies."

"There is no other alternative?" Ranma asked. The Oracle shook her head. "So... there is no hope? Is this my destiny?" 

Silence reigned the room for a minute. Outside, birds were chirping, cars were passing through the streets each second. Truth was hidden in the world, and sometimes, Ranma would realize that it was better left unsaid, as he stared at the floor sadly. 

TING!

"Ah! It's done!" the Oracle said happily as she stood up from her position. Walking towards the oven, she opened it slowly, letting the aroma flow through. Ranma's nose and stomach reacted wonderfully as he suddenly stared at the Oracle's back like she was some kind of savior. The woman turned towards Ranma with a tray on her hand, her green hair flowing back behind her. "Cookie?" 

Ranma was about to unleash his Amaguriken, but then remembered the conversation he had a while ago with her. He frowned. He did something he never usually did in life. "N... no thanks. I don't feel like it." 

"You promised me you'll take one!" the Oracle suddenly looked indignant. 

"I... I did not!" Ranma sputtered a reply. It was the truth. He didn't exactly 'promise', although he did say he'll have some. Actually, even if his stomach wanted so, the heavy burden in his mind made him... unsatisfied with food. "I... I'm sorry. I don't feel like it." 

The Oracle sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have told you... but think of this," she took a cookie and extended it towards Ranma. "Take one, and eat it. After you're done with it, you'll start to feel better." She smiled. "You'll remember that you don't believe in this 'fate' crap. You live your own life, right?" 

Ranma looked at her, and at the cookie she was offering. He took it, and found himself walking away... 

Ranma found himself mysteriously beside Beryl who was sleeping in a couch. He was still inside the Oracle's residence, and he just stared at Beryl's beautiful dark red hair falling nicely in her shoulders. His mind was blank as he took his hand and shook her shoulder. "Beryl-san..." 

The woman mumbled something, and began to flutter her eyes open. Looking at Ranma, she suddenly jumped, and for a second, Ranma thought she was going to scream, when her face suddenly went back to its neutral look. 

"Ranma... don't scare me like that..." she said in deep breaths. Staring back at him, she smiled. "So, you finished your talk with her?" 

"Yes... she..." 

"Well?" Beryl asked, looking a bit excited. "Did the Oracle tell you how to get Naia back?" 

Ranma nodded. "Yes... she said that it was up to me to free Naia..." 

"Oh, that is good..." Beryl breathed a sigh of relief. It seems Beryl had a fear that Naia might never come back, and her relief showed how much importance Naia was to her. Ranma sighed dejectedly. 

Taking a last look at his cookie, he bit it in half. Chewing it slowly, he found it delicious. He ate the other half. 

Beryl watched Ranma eat his cookie. She frowned. The way Ranma was eating slowly was scaring her a bit. Usually, he would as fast as the Roadrunner, but something seems to be troubling him. "Ranma, are you okay?" Beryl asked, concerned. 

"Hmm?" Ranma looked at her. "Oh, I'm fine, Beryl-san." 

Beryl nodded. "Okay... Anyway, let's go. The others might be waiting sick for us." Ranma nodded and taking a last look at his surroundings, he followed Beryl out. 

=Hideout=

Rahme's cellphone rang shrilly, and vibrated at her breast pocket strongly. With a quick swipe at her hand, she grabbed her phone from her pocket, and pressed 'Yes' and put it in her hear. "Rahme here," she said. 

"They are coming back," Rei's voice replied from the other side. "Keep your eyes open. I can see some small bursts of KI in the place." 

"Damnit! I already told Tama to stop killing the damn cockroach that way!" Rahme closed her phone and ran towards where she had left Tama. Running blindly towards the room, Rahme kicked the door down, shouted, "TAMA!" and surprised the girl inside. She jumped higher than a rabbit with spring shoes. 

"R-Rahme!" Tama had muttered once her feet were, a bit wobbly, on the ground. "What are you doing here?" 

"What have I TOLD you about USING KI?!" Rahme practically shouted her complaints on the girl's ears. "You have got to STOP killing the damn COCKROACH and start your job! Beryl is coming back, and Reiko has been detecting your small KI blasts!" Rahme's head enlarged the size of a swollen tumor, and continued to throw her flames towards Tama. "What if THE SAILOR SENSHIS arrive WHEN BERYL arrives, do YOU KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN?!" 

Tama didn't seem to be affected. As the matter of fact, it seems she didn't even notice Rahme's outburst. "Oh, Rahme, come on. It's not like the Senshis can detect one little..." 

Somewhere in the building, there a small but sharp sound of glass shattering. Rahme and Tama listened to the surroundings, their ears moving. "What were you saying?" Rahme asked. 

Tama shrugged. "Hey, it doesn't mean it's the Senshis!" 

=Juuban Streets=

"So, tell me Ranma," Beryl began, "what did the Oracle tell you?" 

Right now, by the time Tama had shrugged her shoulders, Ranma and the others were on another Taxi, going back to their hideout. Beryl was, by this time, very demanding, hoping to get the information out of Ranma as soon as possible. 

Ranma, his thoughts still heavy on what the Oracle had said, just stayed strangely silent. He tried to block everything. Unfortunately, Beryl was as stubborn as flypaper, and she began to ask him more and more. Finally, after having one question too many, he slowly breathed out a sigh. 

"I am trying to understand it myself, Beryl-san... please... just be a bit patient with me. The Oracle seem to like speaking in riddles..." Ranma didn't exactly lie, but he didn't exactly tell the truth either. But it seems Beryl was convinced of Ranma's explanation, and quieted down. 

"Yes, the Oracle can be a bit of a riddler," Beryl nodded. "Right, Mai?" 

Mai shrugged her shoulders. Ranma looked at her curiously. "You visited the Oracle?" he asked. 

Mai nodded. "Yes." 

"What did she tell you?" Ranma asked, curious. Mai stared at him, scrutinizing his eyes like the girl from the apartment. Ranma swallowed nervously. He was about to avert his eyes when Mai replied in a steady, and a bit cold voice. 

"Nothing..." she said. "Like you, I couldn't understand it myself." 

"Oh..." was all Ranma could say, and silence reigned the whole trip. 

+++++++++

It took almost half an hour on the return trip. The cause? It seems an accident occurred in one of the buildings in Juuban. Fire had started because of electrical fault, and too many wiring. It took 5 firetrucks to be deployed as the fire quickly spread to the neighboring houses. 

Once the bottleneck of traffic was cleared, it was a very easy way back. 

When they stopped, Beryl stepped of first, and moved to give space for Ranma to exit as well. Mai stayed in for a few minutes to pay for their fare, and too, followed them out. 

Ranma bowed his head a bit. The Oracle seemed to be wrong about him forgetting. The very thought was lodged in his mind that it was almost impossible to take away. Heavy in thought, Ranma didn't notice Beryl stopped walking, and ended up getting his nose on her back. 

"Ow..." Ranma muttered, rubbing his nose. "Hey, why did you stop..."

"SH!" Beryl suddenly exclaimed, and took out her cellphone. Dialing Rei's operational number, she only waited a ring before Rei answered. "Rei. Something's off." 

"Yes, I can see that," Rei's voice replied. "I don't know what it was, Beryl-san. I was watching you guys instead of the hideout. I'm sorry." 

"It's okay. What is it?" Beryl asked. 

"The coding of the building changed. It's now much more complex," Rei's voice replied. 

"Senshis?" Beryl asked. 

"I am not sure," Rei's voice replied. "Be careful." 

"Okay," Beryl replied. "Keep me posted," and she pressed 'End Call'.

"Beryl?" Ranma began. "How'd you know something was off?" 

"Look at the building," Beryl said. 

Ranma did, and looked at it curiously. Nothing seemed to be wrong... except that the abandoned building looked much whiter than usual... "It's whiter than usual?" Ranma asked. 

"Yes. When surroundings suddenly become cleaner, even with the smallest degree, it means Crystal Tokyo had changed its coding, albeit even in a small way," Beryl replied. She began to dial another number. Mai looked around her with concentration. Fear seem to be in the air, and Ranma began to look around as well. 

Then, a movement caught his eye. Turning towards where he saw movement, he gasped as he saw two cats. Black and white, staring at them. Instinct almost took over, as Ranma prepared to run, when he suddenly remembered that cat's don't affect him now. 

When Ranma started training, or for a better term, downloading fighting styles, Rei was able to fix the problems the stupid training he had with Genma. The fear of cats, as Rei had put it, was a very complex coding inside Ranma's head. With a few decoding, deleting and debugging, Rei was able to fix the fear he had. For that, Ranma thanked her a thousand times. 

Looking back, Ranma laughed at the predicament he got, all thanks to some coding he got from his stupid old man. Everything was so stupid. His life was all stupid. 

Beryl and Mai looked at Ranma with apprehension. With their eyes at him, Ranma stopped laughing, and settled with nervous scratch in the back of his head. "Sorry, I was reminiscing. About my life, were I was scared of cats when I saw those two cats over..." Ranma pointed out where the last two cats were seen, but then, they were gone by the time he tried to point them. "Huh? They're gone? Well, those two cats were weird. Black and white."

Beryl and Mai seem to freeze upon hearing that. Ranma noticed the tension rise, and the temperature drop. "D-did they have a weird mark on their foreheads?" Mai asked. 

"Weird marks?" Ranma asked. 

"Yes, like crescent moons," Beryl asked. 

Ranma closed his eyes as he tried to remember the details of the cats. White, black, with some weird glowing part in their heads... "Yes..." he said slowly. "They did have some weird symbols in the head. I'm not really sure what shape though." 

"Damnit!" Beryl took out her cellphone, and began to dial Rei's number. Once again, after just one ring, the operator replied. "Rei?" 

"What's wrong?" Ranma asked Mai. 

"Cats with crescent moons on their heads are Moon Cat Programs. They are like guides, beacons, and scramblers. They are the like the operators in Crystal Tokyo," Mai replied, her hands already forming fists. She was getting tense. 

"We think they might be a few Moon Cat Programs here," Beryl said to her phone. "Ranma saw them."

"If they are, that explains the coding in the building," Rei's voice replied. "What do you think?"

"If the Senshis are here, we have no choice but to move out. Where are Rahme and Tama?" Beryl asked. 

"Last time I checked, inside," Rei's voice replied. "The coding won't allow me to see, and Rahme and Tama seem to be separated from their phones. I'll try to decipher the new codes." 

"Do so," Beryl replied. "When you are done, guide us through. We are going in." and she closed her phone. 

Mai and Ranma looked at Beryl questioningly, waiting for her next orders. "Beryl-san, what are we going to do?" 

Beryl seem to glow a bit with KI. "We are going in." 

To Be Continued...

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay! MERRY XMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!


End file.
